Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft’s maiden crewed flight, originally scheduled for May 6, has been postponed yet again, this time to May 21. The launch was initially halted two hours before liftoff due to an issue with a pressure regulation valve on the Atlas V rocket’s upper stage.
After successfully replacing the valve on Saturday, engineers detected a small helium leak on the Starliner’s service module. NASA and Boeing are currently investigating the source of the leak and developing testing and operational solutions to address the issue.
As part of the testing, Boeing will bring the propulsion system up to flight pressurization, allowing the helium system to vent naturally. This will validate existing data and strengthen the flight rationale.
The Atlas V and Starliner remain sheltered at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams remain in preflight quarantine and will travel back to Houston on May 10 to spend time with their families while engineers prepare the rocket and spacecraft for next week’s launch.
During the highly anticipated mission, Wilmore and Williams will spend about a week aboard the International Space Station (ISS) before returning to Earth in a parachute- and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern U.S.
Once the Starliner is certified, it will join SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft in conducting regular crewed rotation missions to the ISS.
The Starliner’s development has faced numerous delays over the years. Its first uncrewed test flight in 2019 ended in failure due to software issues, and a second uncrewed test flight in 2022 encountered additional issues that required resolution before the spacecraft could be deemed ready for a crewed flight.
